Are you a professional in your preferred industry? If you are a business professional in this current age of social media, it is often recommended that you market yourself and your skills on some form of media platform. Right now, the social media savvy business professional is likely to use LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn Corporation (n.d.), LinkedIn is “the world’s largest professional network with 774+ million members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.”
LinkedIn was created for the professional and is “commonly used by individual employees and job seekers to grow their career” (Luenendonk, 2019). This growth can be done in many ways, but the most common is through the connection aspect. After an individual has created a LinkedIn profile and added content relevant to their professional career, they can begin to connect with other professionals through invitations. These connection invitations can be sent to professionals you already know, you work with, or who work in industries you are interested in. Through these connections, you can learn more about your peers’ professional life and what is happening in their industry. Professional, informational content is the name of the game when creating media for LinkedIn. This content can help professionals get noticed, recruited, or even promoted if it matches a company’s values and needs.
But how does a person just stepping into their preferred industry stand out among the crowd of professionals? For me, as an undergraduate at New Mexico State University, this is a serious question. One which my Internet and Social Media Marketing class has nudged us to answer. For this, we were challenged to connect with professionals in an industry we would like to work in after graduation. For me, my chosen industry is Business or Marketing related. And although my degree is broad and there are many individuals with which I could connect, I found this task daunting.
This fear of connection mainly came from the fact that many of the people I already know and could meet with to discuss my chosen industry do not have LinkedIn or are not avid users. Due to a lack of professionals on LinkedIn that I might already know, I sent invitations to people I did not know but who provided insight on opportunities within the Business and Marketing industries. I also utilized Facebook to request help from people who might have LinkedIn profiles and worked either in Business or Marketing. In other words, I decided to grow my professional social media connection through the connections I had already made but didn’t yet know about on LinkedIn.
Fear: a mixed feeling of dread and reverence.
(Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.)
So, who did I connect with? Well, for the purpose of privacy, I will address them here as the Coordinator and the Producer. I chose the Coordinator because he works for a company I might like to apply to after graduation. He also attended NMSU and has a broad range of experience in Business Management and Marketing. The experience listed on the Coordinator’s profile gave me insight into his progression through the Business industry. From his work experience, I was able to see how an individual might start in a Research Marketing role and gradually gain experience in Communications, Social Media Marketing, Project Management, and Business Management and Planning. Based on where he started and where he is now, it was evident through his timeline of events that he was passionate about media and created his career through this passion.
I chose the Producer because he is someone that I know and is an experienced professional who works with a top-tier company in Media and Marketing. His work experience also led me to believe that his passion for media was the driving force behind the jobs that have shaped his career. He went from an Intern and Assistant Editor, to the creator of commercials and motion graphics, to broadening his education through research which he implemented in the fields of Communications and Marketing. From here, his career began with a new company that provided him with the opportunity to move up and gain insight into the world of business and project management—followed by his current position in Business Management and Marketing as a Producer for Apple.
So, what type of background do the company’s that these two professionals work for require for new hires? Well, the Coordinator works for the Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC, which is formed by Amentum and BWX Technologies, Inc. “to support the DOE Office of Environmental Management and Carlsbad Field Office in achieving WIPP and National TRU Waste Program goals” (Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC, 2019). These companies work with the government to operate the WIPP site; therefore, they usually require new hires to obtain at minimum their Bachelor’s degree and/or certificates in the fields where they hire. They also prefer new hires to have experience in their field. Since the Producer works for Apple, it is well known that they only accept the brightest talent. Their requirements are a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, but they often prefer a Master’s degree and sometimes require additional experience.
Group: a number of people or things that are located close together or are considered or classed together.
(Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.)
Another way to make connections is through joining Groups on LinkedIn. Groups can give more insight into your career choice or an industry that you are interested in. Members of groups post discussions on topics related to the industry to help members grow in their professional inquiries. I decided to join three groups because they are related to my professional area of interest: Advertising & Marketing Industry Professionals; Human Resources – Recruiting for Startups; Travel & Tourism Industry Professionals Worldwide. I chose these groups because they are related to the Business and Marketing industries. Travel and tourism make up a large part of the Business industry and are areas that I am interested in. My degree specializes in Marketing, so I thought it would be beneficial to learn more about the different types of marketing from professionals in this field. And professional development related to HR is essential for any business professional. Unfortunately, I have not learned much from these groups so far due to the wait time associated with being accepted into the groups by group admins. However, I plan to participate in these groups by following discussions to enhance my understanding of current industry events and help me to become a better leader.
Remember to lead in love,
-Bri
References
LinkedIn Corporation. (n.d.). About LinkedIn. https://about.linkedin.com/.
Luenendonk, M. (2019, September 18). How to use linkedin for business purposes. Cleverism. https://www.cleverism.com/linkedin-how-to-use-business/#:~:text=PURPOSE%20OF%20LINKEDIN%201%20Networking%20on%20professional%20level.,…%203%20Research.%20…%204%20Hiring%2Ffinding%20employment.%20.
Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC. (2019). Partners. Nuclear Waste Partnership. https://www.nwp-wipp.com/partners/.
Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Dictionary. Bing. https://www.bing.com/search?q=fear%2Bdefinition&cvid=477dc5fad90c48b49aef09554ecf5f2b&aqs=edge.0.0j69i57j0l7.2951j0j1&pglt=299&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=LCTS.
Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Dictionary – group. Bing. https://www.bing.com/search?q=groups%2Bdef&cvid=a86d5bbc753a4507aae40fb58d00e4df&aqs=edge..69i57j0l8.2230j0j1&pglt=299&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=LCTS.
Will Ardently Pursue 